


His Saving Grace

by Ravenhoot



Series: Illusion and Devotion [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 18:55:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12847401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenhoot/pseuds/Ravenhoot
Summary: A slightly altered version of Loki's trial and imprisonment that includes Sigyn.(During Thor: The Dark World)





	His Saving Grace

Thor entered the throne room with a shackled Loki in tow, a small contingent of Crimson Hawks escorting them on all sides. Loki said a silent prayer of thanks to the norns that Theoric was not part of the delegation ordered to his trial, or lack thereof. As the two brothers reached the dais that held the golden throne, Loki stood at mock attention and faced Odin with a contempt in his eyes. He still wore the irksome muzzle that he was forced into at Stark Tower on Midgard. Frigga looked on her sons with pain and regret. She hated this fate for both of them. She hated that Loki must be punished for being driven to his unspeakable actions all to prove he was a worthy son. She hated that Thor was forced to battle his brother and return him to Asgard in chains. Thor assumed his position to Odin’s left, his face somber and resigned.

Thus far, Loki had kept his eyes on the floor, refusing to give Odin the satisfaction of seeing his face. Soft footsteps from the corridor behind Frigga alerted him to another presence joining his sentencing. He cared not, thinking,  _ invite the whole damn kingdom for all I care. Why try to protect my image now by doing it in private? _

It was the stifled sob that prompted him to finally look up. A petite figure stood slightly behind Frigga. Sigyn. A wave of emotions washed over Loki in an instant. Shame. Embarrassment. Desire. Regret. Heartache. Pain. He finally settled on anger. He was furious that Odin had brought her here to witness him hit rock bottom. 

She looked radiant as ever in a full length gown of jade accented with swirls of muted gold. She wore gold wrist cuffs bearing Loki’s horned helm. His heart ached to see her in his colors… to see her remaining ever faithful to him, despite all of his wrongdoings. She never looked away from him, yet he refused to meet her eyes. He resumed his stare at the floor. Sigyn turned to Odin and let out an indignant huff.

“A muzzle, Allfather!? What is the meaning of this?”

“Loki draws his strength from his ability to twist and manipulate words. I’ll not give him that opportunity in this court.”

“And how is he to explain himself, then?”

“He’s not," Odin said indifferently. "There is nothing I need to hear from him. Were it not for you and his mother, I would have him executed, as befits a treasonous act. However, he was presumed dead once already. I should not like to see my Lady wife grieve her son twice if at all possible.”

“But she WILL grieve! As will I if you lock him away for eternity.”

They spoke about him as if he wasn’t standing right in front of them. He found he didn’t care. This was dragging out too long. He wished they’d just take him to the dungeons and be done with it. He hated her having to see him like this.

"It is decided," Odin said firmly as he gave a wordless command to the guards. One gave a tug on the chains binding Loki’s wrists, causing him to jerk forward. He’d barely taken a step when Sigyn rushed down the steps toward Loki, turning to face Odin.

“Allfather, please! I beg of you. If he is to be imprisoned with no chance of redemption, I would implore you give me the chance to say goodbye.”

_ No… Odin, don’t allow this,  _ Loki thought.  _ Send me to rot in prison. I can’t face her.  _

For a moment, the scene was suspended. The Crimson Hawks lingered, awaiting the Allfather’s orders. Odin spared a glance to right, at Sigyn’s hopeful, desperate face and at his own wife’s, who raised her eyebrows at him. 

“Husband,” Frigga said, “please.”

Loki huffed silently to himself. As if Frigga had to ask for anything from Odin. He suddenly remembered a time many centuries ago, when he was still a child. He’d wanted to learn magic but Odin had forbid it, proclaiming that sorcery was women’s work and Loki would be better suited to train as a warrior like Thor. Frigga decided to teach him anyway. When Loki expressed his worry that Odin would be angry, she had told him, “Loki, your father may be the head of the house, but the woman is the neck… and she can turn the head in any direction she pleases and don't you forget that.”

Loki forced himself back to the present. Odin was speaking again. 

“…seems incredulous that no matter how deceitful he may behave, you still remain loyal to him.”

“I am his wife, Allfather. I swore an oath to remain ever faithful until the day I pass into Valhalla and beyond.” 

“So be it. Guards, take him to the dungeons. Permit Lady Sigyn to say her peace and escort her back to her chambers. Under no circumstances are his bindings to be removed. Good-daughter, be advised that when you depart from his cell, you shall not be permitted to return.” As an aside, Odin muttered to himself, “it is more than he deserves by far.”

The Crimson Hawks tugged Loki’s chains again, this time hard enough to send him lurching forward. With his hands bound, he had no way of bracing the fall. Sigyn instinctively reached for him when she saw him stagger and with a little aid from the magic he had helped her nurture (what felt like a lifetime ago), she kept him from falling. She gave Odin a disapproving glace and snatched the chains from the guard’s hands. 

“Lead the way,” she said with disdain.   

When they reached the dungeons, Loki could immediately tell which cell had been set aside for him. The corner cell was furnished with a bed, bookcase, and various other comforts whereas the remaining cells had at least five prisoners crammed into each one with naught but cots to sleep on. He suspected Frigga was responsible for this. 

He was aggressively shoved into the cell, Sigyn right behind him. The golden forcefield activated the moment they were both inside. Sigyn smoothed her skirt and helped Loki stand. To her surprise, Thor stood outside the cell and turned to face Sigyn. 

“Odin Allfather has agreed to allow you twenty four hours with Loki. I shall come for you tomorrow.”

"Agreed?" Sigyn asked doubtfully. 

"At the suggestion of Queen Frigga."

Thor pressed something on a control panel and the shimmering gold forcefield turned to solid stone. Sigyn said a silent prayer for small favors. At least her last night with him would not be spent under scrutiny by the other prisoners. Standing in front of Loki, she delicately placed the tips of her fingers to the cold steel of the muzzle. 

“Loki, look at me.”

He resolutely kept his eyes to the floor. She stood on her tiptoes, placed her hands on his shoulders, and kissed the muzzle. 

“Loki, my love, look at me,” she said again, a forceful plea in her voice. 

Finally he brought his forlorn emerald eyes up to meet hers. Her striking amethyst eyes had always been able to weaken him. She reached behind his neck and released the clasp that held the muzzle in place. He reached up to grasp her wrist with difficulty, as his hands were still locked in shackles. He gave her a silent warning with his eyes.

“The Allfather said that under no circumstances were your bindings to be removed. He said nothing of the muzzle.”

Despite himself, Loki smiled. Her fiery nature and consternate determination was always one of the things he loved most about her. Sigyn tossed the discarded muzzle to the floor. Suddenly, all of her resolve and strength she had maintained during the trial collapsed and she wept as she exploded into speech.

“I thought you dead. I mourned you. I was made to suffer through your funeral and everywhere I went, I was looked upon with pity as the widow of a traitor. And then we heard you were wreaking havoc on Earth. Your mother and I had to use darker magic than I ever imagined to send Thor to retrieve you. And still I feared I would never look upon your face again. And I’m prattling on and on about my woes when you’re the one in prison.” 

She sputtered and tried to catch her breath. She realized that he had not once tried to interrupt her, which was abnormal for him. She looked at him more carefully and saw that his eyes were sunken and hollow. He had lost his zest for life that had shone so brightly before he’d learned of his true parentage, that catalyst that seemed to start this spiral out of control. 

“Husband, what happened to you?” 

For a while, he said nothing and just stared past her. At last, he spoke and it was just above a whisper. “I would not relive the horrors I have endured to anyone, especially you. I would save you from knowing the trials I bore in the bowels of the galaxy.”

Her shoulders slumped and all of her anger and resentment at feeling abandoned melted away. She closed the distance between them and cupped his cheek with her hand. 

“Beloved, I vowed to share in your joy and sorrow when we wed. Do not carry this burden alone,” she breathed. 

Loki sighed. He raised his bound hands up and over her head so that his arms enveloped her. She laid her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. They stood like that for a while, neither speaking, both content to hold one another. 

“I missed you so,” he murmured into her hair, his voice uncharacteristically tender as he admitted a truth he had refused to acknowledge before now. She sighed into his chest, her head directly over his heart. She listened to its methodical thumping and briefly tightened her grip around his waist before releasing him. He raised his arms over her head once more, struggling slightly with his bound wrists, and took a few steps from her. He stared at the opaque wall of his cell. 

“When I fell off the Bifrost, I believed that was my end. Instead, I woke on a ghost of a moon, where I was propositioned, you could say. I was tempted with that which I had been denied in my birthright – a throne. I am ashamed to say I was weak enough to accept. I saw no alternative and knew I could not return to Asgard without being charged with treason. I saw instantly the power the leader of these creatures, the Chitauri, possessed. I feared what would happen if that power found its way to Asgard--to you. I knew it was far beyond anything I could control and I would have no way to protect you. When I resisted, he ensnared my mind and forced me to do his bidding. I was conscious but unable to control my own impulses, no more than a mindless drone. I could see my actions and their consequences but had no control over them. I dreaded that he would learn of you and try to use you to control me, so I complied. It was more than I hoped that I’d ever see you again.”

When he’d finished, he turned back to face her with trepidation. He had never talked so openly about his fears or weaknesses. She returned his gazed, hoping it told him all that she couldn't. That she loved and forgave him.  _ Odin was right about one thing,  _ Loki thought.  _ I don’t deserve her. I am a parasite that seems hel bent on bringing her down with me.  _

“Sigyn, why do you torment yourself by remaining loyal to me? I am a darkness that looms over you, sucking away your light and beauty.”

“I love you,” she said simply. 

He smiled sadly and beaconed her to him. She moved to stand in front of him.  

“You stubborn woman. I may never be a king, but you surely are my queen. You alone are my saving grace. I love you, Sigyn.” 

She placed one hand gently on his chest and the other behind his head. She pulled him down to her and kissed him. He returned the kiss earnestly, closing his mouth over hers and leaning into her. He parted her lips with his tongue and she responded hungrily, lacing her fingers through his raven hair and gripping it firmly. He let out a moan of desire and desperation. He strained to take a handful of her honey and wheat colored curls that fell to her waist, but his bindings stood in the way. 

“Curse these infernal chains!” Loki shouted. 

Sigyn giggled slightly, held her hands against the cuffs on his wrist while murmuring inaudibly, and a blast of violet light temporarily blinded them. A small  _ clink _ echoed off the stone walls as the shackles fell to the floor. 

“I won’t tell the Allfather if you don’t,” she said mischievously as her amethyst eyes deepened to a royal violet.

“Oh you are wicked,” was his reply.

Loki took a brief moment to appreciate his wife’s magical prowess before taking full advantage of the use of his hands. He seized her by the waist and pulled her to him, the momentum causing him to collapse backward onto the bed. He sat up on the edge while she remained standing in front of him. He took her face in his hands and kissed her again, deeper and more desperately than before. He tried to pour all that was left unsaid into that kiss – his profound loneliness in his exile and his unyielding love for her. She ran her hands up the length of his back and broke away from his mouth, breathing heavily. She kissed his neck, nipping his shoulder slightly and causing him to shiver. He lay back onto the bed, pulling her with him. He looked up at her, his beautiful wife with her waterfall curls cascading down the side of her face, and vowed to himself that he would remember this night always. 

“You realize this is probably the last time we shall ever be together, don’t you?” He asked her. 

“Then we had best make it count,” she answered.

 

 


End file.
